Ferrovia Circumetnea

Ferrovia Circumetnea represents today, the only railway reality with narrow gauge in exercise in all the Sicily, being been, in the time, sluices or abandoned all the other similar railroads. When, about in 1880, was gone delineating the skeleton of the sicialian railway net, in many centers borned requests for the connection on track with the rest of the island. The same happened in the countries around volcano: at that time they had reach a remarkable development yet, thanks to the favorable environmental conditions, and had therefore good game in their demands With regal decree of the 31 December 1883 was constituted a Consortium for the construction and the exercise of the Circumetnea railroad, Who wants to use the Circumetnea Railroad leaving from Catania, it must o in the historical one via Caronda, where has center the master station of Ferrovia Circumetnea called Catania Borgo.

At the entrance of the famous station of Catania Borgo the old vapor locomotive n.14 (nicknamed “Meusa”), that is the same that went with Edmondo De Amicis in his travel at the beginning of the century. Heading towards the periphery of Catania, the shod line cross-sectionally cuts the city center until meeting the first obvious trace of the presence of the Etna: the tap of 1669, that one that caught up and destroyed Catania. The layout assumes now unique characteristic and, between the houses of the periphery, the railroad is flanked from black lava cliffs, that will never abandon it until the arrival.

After Misterbianco opens a huge panorama towards the mountain with a vegetation that varies continuously. It’s a country that is cultivated a lot: the citrus groves leave the place to the olive-tree, to some rare vineyard, the fichidindia cultivate in intensive way Follow, one by one, the other towns that encircle the volcano on this depositor: Paternò, S. Maria di Licodia, Biancavilla, Adrano.